#modelun

[ajkbabybatboy]

AAAAAA

I WAS DECIDED TO BE THE DEPUTY HEAD OF ACADEMY IN MY SCHOOLS MUN CONFERENCE!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!!!! MY BEST FRIEND IS THE HEAD AND I'M HIS DEPUTY!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAA

[gusustudies]

2022.03.07

Quick little update since it’s been literally forever since I posted, oops.

Second semester is going pretty well, I’m really enjoying my schedule since most days I’m done with classes by noon. I’ve been getting pretty involved with student organizations like Model UN, and our martial arts club, which I help teach. Spring break is right around the corner, and that means so are midterms! You can catch me studying in our campus’s Einstein Bagels - their vanilla cold brew is the best!

Next month is a trip to Barcelona for our first international MUN conference, and I cannot be more excited or grateful for this opportunity! Martial arts is also hosting a field trip to our local Tae Kwon Do academy to broaden our horizons.

[ready2president]

MUNs are all about a bunch of teenagers with anger issues that want to blame their bad attitude on a country

No Kevin, you’ re not “respecting DPRKs stance”, you’re just arrogant from mother nature

[petalthestudyblr]

i am so sorry that i’ve not been active much, school is intense and i just have so many extracurricular piling up. however, i went to ymunt (yale model united nations in taiwan) and it was so much fun! i was in the disec committee and we talked about geopolitics in east asia, and potential satellite warfare. i represented belgium 🇧🇪 and i am glad to say that i’ve grown and improved during this conference!

[italian-boi]

Italian portrait, Elise Picard , pencil on paper @veryrunawaycollector you are my favorite political artist ❤

[naomikim-studies]

On April 1st, I attended my first Model United Nations conference and may I say it was a great experience! I learned a lot and really enjoyed myself!

[bvrhiattsummerfellowship]

Learning about negotiating

[josdimension]

The intersection of COP and Model UN?

As a teen who once dreamt of working at the UN/World Bank, I was surprised to later discover as an adult that students participate in activities like Model UN where they get build critical thinking skills, practice negotiation and conflict resolution, while developing global, cultural and situational awareness as they represent countries they are assigned to with the purpose of achieving a common goal. It’s meant to mimic the real-life UN Security Council which brings together 15 countries (temporary and permanent members with the purpose of pursuing diplomacy and establishing the world order for a designated period of time and often pertaining to specific issues.

This week’s class was like taking a Model UN session and applying the format to a COP simulation. The Conference of the Parties (COP) facilitates coordination of efforts and unification of perspective for countries in their approach to combatting climate change. These countries come together to discuss and negotiate global actions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in alignment with targets outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement.

One of the most interesting things about how COP functions is the way in which representatives from almost every country in the world gather promote the interests of their own countries using a framework for the global community, and for this reason priorities sometimes diverge. World leaders and their delegations discuss everything from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to climate adaptation strategies, to financing for climate solutions which includes financial assistance to developing countries. 

When I think about negotiation simulations, I think about how nominated speakers try to make best guesses of what works for billions of people, and how they sometimes get it right and sometimes don’t. I also think about how delicate of a balance it is to keep your country happy while also finding a middle ground with the rest of the world. People think COP is about climate commitments but it’s also about diplomacy, because without trusted allies and loyal constituents a representative of any country would be unable to achieve their goal. “When it comes to geopolitics, conflict resolution and peacekeeping skills; it is best to forget about such illusory abstractions as east and west or north and south and to realize who we really are and why we are really here” ― Wald Wassermann.